To read this message in Punjabi, click here.
October 14, 2025 (Sacramento, CA) — Yesterday, the Sikh Coalition was profoundly disappointed to learn that Governor Newsom had vetoed SB 509—a widely supported bipartisan bill to combat transnational repression against all of California’s communities.
In the governor’s veto message, he indicated that the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) had just created a police training on transnational repression. This training allegedly aligns closely with the intention of SB 509; while we have not yet fully reviewed it, given that it was just announced yesterday, we are already in touch with CalOES to better understand its content and the plan for its implementation. Our goal in supporting SB 509 was the creation of a tool to combat transnational repression, and we are committed to seeing that through.
We remain frustrated by the governor’s choice to veto, but we also want to offer reflections on the context—and the path forward.
First, we must be clear: This bill did not fail from a lack of effort by our sangat. Hundreds of Sikhs from across the state sent emails, spoke at hearings, and called the governor’s office, and more than 50 gurdwarae signed onto letters of support. Thanks to this work, members of the California Legislature, officers with the California Police Chief’s Association, professionals at CalOES, and staff in Governor Newsom’s office are all significantly more educated about the persistent threat of Indian transnational repression. Even as we learn more about this CalOES training, we know it would not exist if the sangat had not advocated so strongly for SB 509.
And second, we must recognize that a vocal minority with outsized influence was furiously opposed to our shared efforts from the start. Advocacy groups like the Hindu American Foundation lied freely about the content and intention of SB 509, and they slandered organizations like ours working to advance it; we repeatedly contested this disinformation in public and in private. The government of India, moreover, clearly remains committed to fighting any discussion of or accountability for transnational repression.
Despite this frustrating result, we remain deeply grateful to the bill’s sponsors—Senator Anna Caballero, Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Kaur Bains, and Assemblymember Esmerelda Soria—for their leadership. Additionally, the campaign would not have been possible without the diverse range of groups who supported it through the legislative process. This includes the Hindu American advocates who attended legislative meetings with us, the Japanese American groups who signed our organizational letters, and the Iranian American well-versed transnational repression who penned an op-ed and spoke at a press briefing to support the bill.
This is not the end of our advocacy work on Indian transnational repression, whether in California or elsewhere. In addition to working with CalOES on this new effort, we are committed to continuing to support bills to combat transnational repression at the state and local level, but also to investing in non-legislative options like law enforcement trainings, policymaker briefings, and more. And we will continue to insist that everyone has the right to practice their faith and express their views without the threat of violence or intimidation from foreign governments, their agents, and their proxies.
As always, the Sikh Coalition urges you to practice your faith fearlessly.